That’s a six-point turnaround and a three-point post-debate bounce for Romney. A Fox poll taken Sept. 24-26 had given Obama a 48-43 lead.

Romney’s edge comes mainly from independents, white voters and men. Just over half of men (51 percent) back Romney now, the highest level of support he’s received among this group.

The poll shows that independents side with Romney by 44-32 percent. That’s a reversal from before the debate, when it was 43-39 in Obama’s favor. One independent in four is undecided or will vote for another candidate.

Support for Obama fell a bit across the board, most notably among young voters: 50 percent of voters under 30 back Obama, down from 58 percent two weeks ago.

Furthermore, more voters seem to like Romney after the debate. Fifty-two percent have a favorable opinion of him, up from 48 percent two weeks ago. This is not only his highest favorable rating among likely voters, but also the first time it’s been over 50 percent. It’s also the first time he has had a higher favorable rating than Obama -- albeit by just one percentage point. Fifty-one percent of voters view Obama favorably, unchanged from before the debate.

The Fox poll also found higher enthusiasm among Republicans than Democrats.

Gallup’s daily tracking poll released Wednesday, however, showed Obama leading Romney among registered voters by 50 percent to 45 percent and the two tied among likely voters at 48 percent. Both numbers are one-point gains for Obama from Tuesday’s tracking poll.

In a daily tracking poll from Investor's Business Daily out Wednesday, Romney widened his lead over Obama to five points, 48.7 to 43.7 percent. Romney led by two points on Tuesday in the IBD/TIPP poll.

But in the largest swing state, Florida, Obama held his lead. A new University of North Florida poll conducted Oct. 1-9 -- mostly after his shaky debate performance -- shows the president leading Romney 49 to 45 percent.

Other polls released Wednesday evening showed Obama ahead by eight points in Pennsylvania and four in Nevada.